The Highways Agency is urging road users in the south of England to take care as heavy rain and strong winds are forecast today and into Saturday.

Met Office forecasters have issued a severe weather alert for gales for the south west and the south east – with 70mph gusts predicted.

Road users are advised to plan their journeys before setting out, check weather conditions, leave extra time for their journeys if travel conditions are poor, and delay their journey if the weather becomes severe.

The Met Office is also forecasting more rain across the network, with another 15 to 25 millimetres of rainfall expected.

The already saturated south of England may experience up to 40mm locally, bringing further flooding issues to the prone areas.

There is also a strong risk that high-sided vehicles, caravans and motorbikes could be blown over.

The Highways Agency and Met Office are strongly advising that these types of vehicles avoid, if possible, the following sections in the South West during the severe weather.

• A30/A38 (Bodmin)

• M4, J22-J23 (Severn Crossing)

• M48, J1-J2 (Severn Crossing)

• M5, J13-J15 (Stroud to M4)

• M5, J18-J19 (Avonmouth Bridge)

• M5, J20-J23 (Clevedon to Bridgwater)

• A35, (Long Bredy duals)

Traffic Management Director Simon Sheldon-Wilson said: “We are constantly monitoring the potential impact of severe weather on our network and are working closely with the Met Office to ensure we have the most up-to-date information to be able to inform drivers.

“We have got extra traffic officers working across the network to deal with any incidents.”